Words... Sometimes so hard to find. How can you sum up one short life in a very short time, with the least amount of words? When I think of of Blake, there are so many words that come to mind. The first words I think of are Son, grandson, Brother, cousin, nephew, friend. Then it can expand a little to independent, tough, caring and even needy. How can you be independent and needy? There was really only one thing Blake always needed. That was his mom. Although she was there for him almost every day, and she longed to be there for him when she couldn't be, they have a bond that every other person in this world could only dream to have. To Blake, in a room full of people, she was the only one in the room. When she was there, he felt safe and calm. As long as he had his hand touching her skin, he knew he was safe. She was there to protect him until the time came for him to become her protector, which he is right now. This is not to say he didn't love everyone else the same, because everyone knows he loves us all, but just like the rest of his life, he did it his way.

But the words that so many of us have learned here in the past few months that relate to Blake are Determination, Courage and Inspiration.

Determination - Webster defines it as "A fixed intention or resolution." If there was something someone was doing, Blake was always determined to do it, if not do it better than anyone else. He had an attitude in everything he did, and felt deep disappointment when he did not succeed, although he would rarely let it show, but sometimes, you could tell. But thats what always made him stronger. Blake knew he was sick, and he was determined to do all he could to live his life as if every day was his last.

Courage - Webster defines it as "a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger of pain without showing fear" Although Blake didn't always hide his fear, he faced danger and sometimes thrived on it. I have personally seen Blake jump his bike over his ramp, clear 3 of his friends laying on the ground, only to crash and slide chest first down the street, scraping up his chin, knees and elbows. He'd get up, dust himself off, laughing at how awesome that jump was. With that said, Blake hated 2 things more than anything else. Needles and band-aids. With this illness, he had a lot of both of them. He had miles of tape removed and hundreds of needles. He'd get upset every time he knew he was gonna get it, but it wasn't due to fear. It was because he wanted it done on his time and usually wouldn't let anyone touch him until he was ready. Once he was ready, he took it because of the courage he has.

Finally, inspiration. Webster defines it as "Divine guidance or influence exerted directly on the mind and soul of humankind." Hearing this definition makes you immediately think of Blake. Blake has always been there for anyone as soon as they needed him. He did it on his terms, but you could always count on him. Like an angel, he always took someone weaker than him, under his wing to make sure they were protected. He usually did this one person at a time, but now he will continue to inspire us from the strength he had to fight this horrible disease, and to make it as long as he had._________________We would like to thank everyone who has donated to the Blake Wayland Leukemia Fund through this website, and those who participated in the sanctioned fundraisers